A Wish Come True
by Lil Rose Angel
Summary: What if by some miracle, the 00 cyborg team were released of their cyborg form? No, that's just ridiculous! Or is it? Read and find out! Co-authored by Sorrowful. Chapter 7 up!
1. Default Chapter

Hey people of Fanfiction.net! You might think that this is one of my stories, but it isn't. I'm writing this story with a well-known writer whose penname is Sorrowful. We are going to alternate with each other, writing chapters. This first one is mine, the second one hers, the third one mine again, and so on. I got this idea from an Animorphs book. I read it when I was in third grade. I hope you like this!  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own Cyborg 009, the people in Japan do. Also, we don't own Animorphs, K.A Applegate owns it (I think. I'm not sure about the author.)  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
Beaten  
  
The 00 cyborg crew were sitting in the living room of the Dolphin, resting after a particularly tough attack from Black Ghost, their nemesis. They had been thoroughly thrashed by Black Ghost's latest cyborg. Everyone was injured in some way but thankfully, not fatally. Each was immersed in their own thoughts on their latest battle. They had barely escaped with their lives. 002 banged his fists on the wall for the umpteenth time and cried with frustration, "I still don't get how we lost!"  
  
"I've told you time and again, 0025 was just too powerful for us. He knew our every move before we made it and found a way to reflect our attacks." 004 sighed.  
  
"We just have to find a weak spot and make a new plan of attack. Maybe we could beat him." 002 said hopefully.  
  
"002, stop whining! You're unbearable. Just face it. We lost and he won. There's nothing more to it. Get that into that thick head of yours." 004 snapped, his patience wearing thin.  
  
"There is a way to defeat him I know it, we just have to figure it out! So don't surrender that easily! You're just giving up. He's counting on that, to intimidate weak minds like yours."  
  
"Oh yeah? Whose mind are you calling weak, you hot-headed little punk?" 004 retorted, the color rising in his face.  
  
"Stop squabbling, you aren't helping at all! We should work together, not start arguing with each other! We're a team, remember?" 009 stepped between the quarreling cyborgs. "Doctor Gilmore? What do you think?"  
  
"I'm not really sure at this moment. I agree with 002, we have to think of a plan to defeat 0025, he can't be invincible." At this 002 threw an infuriating look of triumph at 004. "However, we can't be complacent. 0025 is very strong, and knows all our fighting styles. We need to think a bit more before we act." 004 returned the same look.  
  
003, who had been quiet all this time suggested, "What if we each thought up our own plans and met back here in about, lets say, 3 hours to form an ultimate plan of attack?"  
  
"Wonderful, 003. It's just the thing to give everyone time to think in peace." Dr. Gilmore looked at 004 and 002, who both hung their heads in shame.  
  
"Yes, then I'll make some supper while you guys do that. Food is the cure for everything. It should make everyone happy. I'm sure all of you are hungry." 006 said in an attempt to lighten up the mood.  
  
"Sure, I'll go with you, My superb cooking skills will make sure that the meal will be one to remember." 007 got up, after making this proclamation and headed to the kitchen, following 006.  
  
"I'm going for a walk. Taking a stroll in the park always calms me. Is that ok?" 009 inquired.  
  
"Of course, 009. Just make sure that you come back in time for the meeting, alright?"  
  
"No problem, Doctor."009 walked out the door of the Dolphin and into the busy streets of Tokyo. 'I wonder when this will end. I'm getting tired of all this battle planning, and all this fighting. Why can't this all stop? I wish Black Ghost never existed and we were never turned into cyborgs.' He had reached his favorite park right in the heart of Tokyo. He saw children running and playing in the freshly mowed grass, their laughter ringing throughout the whole park. Along his path, 009 saw a white marble fountain that he didn't remember seeing before. Upon closer inspection, he saw that pennies were being thrown in, and the owners wishing for whatever they wanted. 009 smiled, for he had always wanted to make a wish like this when he was a boy, but the Father had said that he should pray to God for his wishes to come true. 'I guess I should try it.' With that, he fished a coin out of his pocket and, holding it thought, 'I wish that my teammates and I were never turned into cyborgs.' And threw the coin into the fountain.  
  
009 smiled, finally having done what he had wanted to do since his childhood. 'Now to get down to business'. He sat down on a patch of clean grass near the river and started forming a plan of attack. ________________________________________________________________________  
  
It was nearly dark when 009 had finally perfected his plan. He wasn't worried, though. It was late when he had first arrived in the park so he knew he wasn't going to be late for the meeting. When he was reaching the entrance, he found that it was deserted, much to his surprise. 'Usually little kids are still here, even though it's dark. Oh well, it's nothing to worry about, they probably just went home for dinner at the same time.' How wrong he was.  
  
When he reached the entrance, 009 saw a strange, glowing light. He hurriedly ran to investigate, and found a rather familiar figure standing on the grass, the glow around him illuminating the whole clearing.  
  
"Wha-what are you doing here? I thought you were destroyed, Apollo!"  
  
"What in the name of Zeus are you talking about?" The figure of the Great God Apollo looked down at 009 scornfully, then his face changed from scorn to realization as he examined the perplexed cyborg. "You think I am the cyborg made by Dr. Geya and that I was destroyed in a fire? You have quite the imagination, 009. The cyborg pretending to be me was destroyed, and I am the real Apollo."  
  
009 was very confused. He had seen, with his own two eyes Apollo being destroyed in that horrid fire that lighted the temple, which the Greek God cyborgs had called home. Yet this 'Apollo' before him was also claiming to be the real Greek God Apollo.  
  
"Um.if you really are Apollo, you should know what happened with the Greek God cyborgs. The cyborg Apollo also claimed that he was authentic but he wasn't. How can you prove to me that you are truly a God and not another Black Ghost cyborg, trying to lure me into a trap and kill me?"  
  
"My, my, aren't we suspicious! You have a good point, how do you know that I'm not just another cyborg? Well, you'll just have to trust me on that!" 009's cinnamon eyes narrowed as he inspected 'Apollo'. Somehow, he knew that Apollo was telling the truth; it was like a little voice in the back of his head was calling out to him, telling him that he should believe Apollo. He trusted that little voice, for it had always led him in the right direction.  
  
"What if I do trust you? Why are you here anyway? I thought all you gods live on Mount Olympus." Apollo smiled knowingly at him and began. "You see, 009 there are really Greek Gods. We do exist. The only reason I'm here is to grant your wish. You see, my honorable father, Zeus found out that I was uhh.misbehaving and he decided to punish me. He said that I was to either serve 1 year as a slave on earth, or I could grant one mortal's wish. If you think that granting wishes is an easy task, you are very much mistaken. Granting wishes takes a lot of energy and only the most experienced gods can do it, but I wasn't about to become another slave for another mortal so I chose the granting wishes. You happened to be the one that my father saw at that particular moment so he ordered me to grant your wish. Now that you've heard all this, make your wish, cyborg."  
  
009 was stunned when he heard this come out of Apollo's mouth. He was much politer than the cyborg Apollo, who thought he was better than everyone else, and showed it. As he was thinking, a thought came into his mind. 'What if this is just one big prank or something? Or worse, what if I'm wrong and he is a Black Ghost cyborg?' The little voice in the back of his head came back and reassured him that the Apollo standing before him was telling the truth. Then it was easy. He knew at once what he wanted to wish for.  
  
"Apollo? I've decided what wish I want to make."  
  
"Oh really?" said a sarcastic Apollo "Are you sure? We don't want to be hasty now, do we? Oh yeah, one more thing. I can't turn back time so don't even think of asking me to let you go back in time and have another go at destroying 0025."  
  
"Haha, very funny. I wish that all my friends and I were never turned into cyborgs."  
  
"I hate this part-it's so old and it makes me sound like a common slave." Apollo sighed as he began. Suddenly his voice turned deeper, more commanding. "So it is ordered, so it shall be done. In the name of Zeus, grant this mortal's wish!" Then he uttered 2 words that 009 didn't understand that made the ground tremble, and he blacked out. ________________________________________________________________________  
  
Joe's P.O.V:  
  
I sighed. I was on another plane to another country, where I would attend yet another new school. My father was a businessman and he was always traveling. My mother didn't seem to mind, though. She was good at almost everything and always was able to find a new job wherever my father went. Me? I've developed an ability to learn different languages so I wouldn't feel left out at my new schools. Not that it mattered, anyway. I transferred so fast and so often that whenever I made a new friend, I had to go to another country. My father had hinted that this might be the end of our travels because he had found a great deal here. I hope so. I've had enough traveling for a lifetime. I looked out the window as the plane was landing. Thank god I don't get airsick. As soon as the plane was on the ground, the co-pilot announced, "We have landed. Please wait until the seatbelt sign has been turned off to unfasten your seatbelts. We hope you have enjoyed this flight and welcome to Paris, France. Thank you."  
  
End P.O.V  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Well? How did you like it? I certainly enjoyed writing it and I put in a lot of effort so I would greatly appreciate it if you reviewed. If you don't like this chapter, but like the plot, keep checking this story because remember, I'm writing this with Sorrowful and you're bound to like her chapters ^_^ Trust me. So click that wonderful blue button and review! 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This second chapter is written continuous to Katherine's great first chapter; and yes Katherine, I did start it in Francoise's POV, to your request.

Title: A wish come true

Chapter: 2- Regrets are such useless things

Francoise's P.O.V.

It was a gloomy day, the clouds over shadowed the sky like mist of doom and I seemed to be feeling the same way. For the last few hours I had a huge headache troubling me, and it wouldn't go away. I felt as if I needed to remember something that I had recently forgotten. I looked over at the window pane, it was fogged, and the paint was peeling off. "Francoise, Francoise, hurry up!" I looked over at my brother, he was holding my jacket. Today was the first day of collage, and I was completely lost in everything.

I made my through the crowded halls of the school, unable to catch a glimpse of what my new school was like. I rapidly took a seat in the front row and began copying the four boards. The class was eerily quiet, too quiet. Another classmate approached me; his eyes were the color of fiery amber. "Hey, my name's Joe Shimamura, I'm new to this school." I smiled politely and whispered; "Me too, but don't tell anyone. It's well known that the new students never have the best of luck." He grinned at me and resumed his seat which was two seats diagonally from me. "Well that's a relief; at least I already talk to someone." I said to myself searching for a pencil in mauve book bag.

I finally found one, sharpened it, and set to work. Later on, I discovered that Joe was in all of classes, luckily enough. The bell rang and before I knew it, it was 7th period, lunch. I looked around to the filled lunchroom, I had no idea where I was going to sit. Then I heard a voice, calling my name in the distance. It was Joe, and he was waving at me from a table surrounded by four other people. I sat down quietly and realize that I hadn't even introduced myself, although a second later I no longer needed to.

"Guys, this is Francoise Arnoul, she's new." Joe said in the same tone that he had used with me before. I nodded and politely said; "Nice to meet you all." We all continued eating and I heard the two other girls that were sitting across from me chatting about some sort of competition at the end of the school year.

"Francoise are you going to try out?" I looked at one of the girls and she said with a smile; "Sorry about that, my name's Cynthia, I was asking about the school competition." A spark on interest lit inside of me. "What's it about?" I asked while sipping fruit punch from my plastic cup. "It's a dance competition Francoise, we're all trying out." Cynthia motioned with the wave of her hand at herself and the girl that was sitting quietly next to her. "Of course there the cheerleading club included." Cynthia said while a look of disgust filled her. "You don't like the cheerleaders?" I inquired more than asked. "Well some of them are all right, but, most of them are just too snobby for anyone to like. 

"And here I thought that cheerleaders were all supposed to be popular." The girl next to Cynthia said with a small smile. I let out a small giggle and nodded. "That's what all the teen movies say, but I guess they lie." 

"Yeah, you must be right. Hey, I'm Cynthia's loyal supporter of the 'We hate cheerleaders' club, wanna join?" I laughed and said; "Do I have a choice?" For the entire period we laughed and joked.

I picked up my books smiled at Joe in a silent thank you and left to my next class. Suddenly and a student with a video camera came rushing at me, flustered. "Hello, are you Francoise Arnoul. Is it true that in the lunch room you were initiated for the cool group, did you pass? Are you dating anyone now, and are you...." Several more questions smothered me but I discontinued hearing them.

I realize that without noticing, I had been added to the notorious cool group of the school, and that was always trouble. 

I regretted coming to school that day, school would be smothering popularity frenzy if I continued this way. I regretted talking to Joe that morning even if he was truly kind to me and he had saved me from my predicament at the lunchroom. But it didn't matter anymore. I sighed and slouched against the lockers.

"Regrets are such useless things..." I murmur to myself.

A/N: So did I do a good job guys, did I follow Katherine's magnificent first chapter well enough? I hope, and don't forget, R/R. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hiya! This took me a long time to write, so you people better appreciate this!! Just kidding ^_^ Sorry I didn't write a Christmas one-shot like so many other people did, but I wanted to finish this chapter before New Years was over. I hope this will be able to live up to the expectations Vanessa's last chapter put up. Does that make sense? If it does, tell me. I'm kinda out of it right now. Sorry. This is my Christmas present to everyone, even if it is too late! ^_^  
  
Merry late Christmas!!!! Happy New Year!!!!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Meet the Cheerleaders  
  
Joe looked around the bustling classroom looking for Françoise. He wanted to talk to her; she was very quiet at lunch and in class.  
  
'It could just be that she's a very shy and quiet person, I mean, I've only known her for a day!' He reasoned with himself. But somehow, no matter how hard he tried; he just couldn't stop worrying about her. Joe was too absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice where he was going and bumped into the girl in front of him.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there." A girl with black hair, green eyes (A/N: Don't any of you readers dare say that black hair and green eyes is impossible, Harry Potter has black hair and green eyes!!!!!) and a very disgusted expression on her face turned around and started to say something nasty, but she stopped as soon as she saw Joe. She fluttered her eyelashes and rubbed her arm where Joe had bumped (A/N: That doesn't sound right either) with a faked look of pain said,  
  
"It's fine. Joe Shimamura, right? My name's Victoria Silver."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Victoria. How do you know my name?"  
  
"It's all over the school. Word travels fast here but for some strange reason I've only heard of a French girl Françoise Arnoul, an American transfer student Jet Link, and you. I don't think there are too many new students this year. I mean, I would've heard of them by now."  
  
'Jet Link..another familiar name. What's wrong with me? Am I going crazy?' Joe slapped himself mentally and he realized that Victoria was talking to him.  
  
"What did you say? Sorry, I spaced out for a moment."  
  
"I said, since you're new here, I'll give you a tour of the school and after that, we can go to the movies together!"  
  
"Uh, Victoria? Don't you think that's a little sudden? Plus, I need to find Françoise. I need to talk to her about something."  
  
"No! Joe, stay with me!" Victoria grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him back. Joe managed to break free and walked off to the nearest staircase, thinking,  
  
'What kind of girl is that? God, France is so weird.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
Françoise flopped onto her bed in her new dormitory and surveyed her surroundings with satisfaction. Jean Paul had been right. College wasn't that bad, especially if you made friends quickly. Françoise had finished her homework early, so she could have some time to get to know her new home. She gazed out the window and found that she had a great view of the large lake that was in the center of an even larger garden. The sun was hidden behind a huge, puffy cumulous cloud but a sudden gust of wind blew the opposing cloud away, revealing the bright merry sun. The sunshine bounced off the water, making the lake sparkle like a precious gem. Françoise decided to have a look around the garden that had captured her attention.  
  
As she was running down the stairs, Françoise saw a spiky-haired redhead with a huge, aquiline nose wandering around at the bottom of the stairs. He looked lost.  
  
"Excuse me, do you need directions?" The redhead looked up to her with mild surprise, and then regained his haughty look.  
  
"Who said that I needed instructions? Who are you, anyway?" Françoise discovered that she wasn't offended by the redhead's rudeness at all because she knew that he was very proud.  
  
'How did I know that?' Ignoring the little voice inside her head that said that she had known him before, Françoise replied,  
  
"My name is Françoise Arnoul. What's yours? Oh, by the way if you're looking for the administrator's office, it's right down the hall, second door to the left. Nice meeting you.?"  
  
"The name's Jet Link. Thanks." Jet said gruffly and walked hurriedly down the corridor.  
  
"Now where did I hear that name before?" Françoise mused to herself as she made her way to the ground floor.  
  
*~*~*  
  
She walked through the garden, inhaling its many fragrances. There were so many colors in the magnificent garden, so many different types of flowers and trees. She saw geraniums, lilies, daisies, begonias, marigolds, petunias, violets, coral-bells, lavender, fuchsia, tulips, pansies, cherry blossoms, daffodils and so much more. Françoise reached the side of the lake and sat down, under a willow tree. She felt so peaceful, sitting there in the shade with not a care in the world. She looked dreamily at the sparkling body of water before her.  
  
"Great view, isn't it?" Françoise was jerked back to reality by a soft voice behind her.  
  
"Joe, it's you! I'm guessing you wanted to check out your new home also."  
  
"You took the words right out of my mouth." He said with a smile.  
  
"This place is so wonderful! Everyone says that collage is so difficult and stressing, but here, I feel so peaceful. It's almost like magic! When I was little I lived in the outskirts of Paris and I would go to a nearby pond every day. It was beautiful there, and I loved playing with the animals. I was so happy!" Françoise blushed. 'Why did I tell him all that? I barely know him! It's so weird, I feel as if I've met him before, but that can't be, I've never known a person named Joe in my life!'  
  
"I know what you mean. Here, I found this on the stairs. I think it belongs to you." He handed her a bright red headband.  
  
"Thank you! It must have fallen off when I was running down the stairs! Thank you so much! My best friend gave this to me for my fifth birthday. I know it must seem silly to you but it serves as memory of my childhood, and I like to look back on it and remember my old friends. " Joe sat down next to her.  
  
"No, I don't think it's silly at all. In fact, I'm envious. I wish I had a wonderful childhood like you did." He grimaced, "My father's a business man, and for some strange reason, he always gets better deals in some part of the world than the current country we're in so I've spent my life traveling all over the world. I never stayed in one place long enough to make such good friends." Françoise saw that Joe had a sad expression on his face so she tried to cheer him up.  
  
"But it must be really exciting to go to all different places and meet new people!"  
  
"Yeah, I suppose. You get tired of it soon. I'm always on planes going to some unknown place where I don't know anyone except my parents." His shoulders slumped and he looked down at the grass.  
  
Joe's P.O.V:  
  
I was beginning to wish that I had never come out here. I felt awful inside, listening to Françoise's wonderful life, while my own life was so horrible.  
  
"Joe.. I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" I looked up. Françoise was looking at me a truly sorry expression in her cerulean eyes. It was so strange, whenever I looked at her I thought that I had known her before in my life, I just couldn't place it. It could be possible that I had seen her in another country but I trusted my memory. She was so nice and understanding, I couldn't help but feel better.  
  
"Thanks, I'm fine. I'm sorry if I bored you with my personal life. It just spilled out. I'm sorry."  
  
"There's no need to apologize." She said with a smile, "I know! Why don't I show you around this neighborhood? Come on, it'll be fun!"  
  
"Why not? I'd love to get to know Paris! Plus, I want some proof that it is really the City of Lights!"  
  
"Don't worry, you'll get as much proof as you want." She's so amazing! She knows exactly what to say when I'm down, and what to do to get me back up! She's so pretty, too. wait, am I falling for her? I've only known her for a day! Well, this is Paris, the City of Love! Note to self: Find out how many names are there for Paris.  
  
End P.O.V  
  
Françoise dragged Joe to his feet and pulled him, laughing to the collage gates.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, a figure was watching them and heard the whole thing. Her face was contorted in a scowl as she watched them run out the gates.  
  
"No way is Françoise Arnoul going to steal Joe from me. He is mine, and mine only! Who does she think she is, anyway? Doesn't she know that no one takes cheerleaders crushes? I will get revenge, if it's the last thing I do!"  
  
*~*~*  
  
So how did you like it? Sorry I put so many authors' notes in the third paragraph, I just couldn't help myself. I love putting authors' notes!! Please review!!! I love getting reviews!!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: My continuation to Katherine's previous chapter which was truly magnificent.  
  
Title: A wish come true  
  
Chapter 4- Chaos  
  
As the night submerged itself into the emerging dawn, the blinding rays of the sun crept up into the cave that had been abandoned for years. Silky spider webs hung from the sharp, jagged edges of the cave, shining with the sunlight. Creating an illuminating effect, the cave became more of a shadowed pathway, than a haunted lair. Despite the lights that played upon the earth made walls the cave was what it was. The lair of an evil man, who has lost all sense of humanity and self compassion long ago. No one dared to approach such a frightening place, and so the mad man was left alone, scheming. His appearance was unknown, for he was drape in a black cloak which was now worn. His face covered by a mask, only revealing glowing yellow eyes filled with hatred and the scars of trapped emotion.  
  
"Black Ghost, sir, your orders have been completed, we are ready to go with the plan." The man by the name of Black Ghost looked at the cowering soldier before him and said in a malicious voice; "Very well, inform the commander at once. I want those cyborgs destroyed, as soon as possible!" The soldier scurried away, like a mouse, and did as he was told. When he was out of earshot Black Ghost laughed with malevolence in echoing throughout the cave. "Those pathetic cyborgs, foolish as they are, they are a great threat to me. But they were naive to believe by wishing what they lost as weak humans that they would live in peace. I can assure them, they will not be in peace until my end comes." He laughed once again, making the nearby guards cringe.  
  
***************************  
  
Francoise awoke to the chirping of various sparrows outside her window, the next day. She pulled the velvet curtains aside and looked at the lavender clock that was beside her bed, on a tiny Oakwood table. It read 6 a.m., perfect timing for her.  
  
Francoise rushed her bath and combed her hair swiftly, not wanting to be late. She looked at the red ribbon which was embedded in her hair lovingly. It truly was a precious gift that meant so much. She snapped out of her train of thought and then hurried downstairs, hearing the noise of the bus. "Mom, I'm going to school now!" She called without waiting to hear a response. On her way to school, Francoise looked at the sky and suddenly a cloud took the shape of a ship. She mouthed the words; "Dolphin", and then shook her head. "What am I saying?" She said as she shook of the peculiar thought and stepped off the stopping bus. She had been having strange flashes of something that she couldn't quite identify. "Perhaps I'm starting to get stress from all of the work." Francoise said to herself as she stepped into her Literature classroom.  
  
"Good morning Francoise, how are enjoying our boring literature class?" Francoise looked to see the kind amber eyes of Joe Shimamura, and she smiled and nodded. Literature was quite dull, and she couldn't stand the writing assignments. (A/N: Truthfully, I love literature; it's one of my favorite subjects. I've just heard that it gets pretty tough in college.) "Mr. Shimamura, please stop staring at Ms. Arnoul, even though I'm sure you would prefer doing so then paying attention." The teacher said aloud, which made both Joe and Francoise blush crimson red. Joe quietly walked to his seat and shot a murderous glance at his blank paper. By now of course, the whole class was staring at them, and the coincidence that they sat right next to each other didn't help at all.  
  
The cheerleaders looked at them with disgust. Victoria passed her hand through her ivory black hair, and her evergreen eyes rolled in Francoise's direction. "Who does she think she is? She thinks she's all that." Another cheerleader that was sitting with her said in a calm and polite voice; "But Victoria, you haven't even met her nevertheless spoke to her."  
  
"Natalie, we cheerleaders know these things." Victoria said as she continue to apply mascara. Natalie sighed and looked at Francoise who was now chatting amicably with another girl in front of her. "She doesn't look mean at all, I wonder why Victoria doesn't like her." She whispered to herself, so that Victoria could not hear her. Natalie's eyes turned to Joe and then she realized Victoria's hate for Francoise. "I'm worried though, when Vicky wants something, she doesn't stop until she gets it." She said to herself once more, and then began to gather her books. She looked at her watch and split second it was time for her next class. She wanted to approach Francoise, but she didn't have a class with her until later in the afternoon.  
  
***************************  
  
Francoise looked at the ticking clock, it was her last class and she couldn't wait to leave. She caught Joe falling asleep and giggled. The dial on the clock finally reached the twelve digit and so she picked up her book bag and sped out the classroom. As she reached for her bus metro card she heard a laugh ring out. Turning around Francoise found herself face to face with the cheerleading squad. Victoria stepped up and said;  
  
"We've been waiting for you."  
  
A/N: How did I do, was this good enough to match up to Kat's wonderful chapter??I hope so. R/R! 


	5. Chapter 5

I am SO sorry I haven't updated!!! But I'm mostly sorry to Vanessa for making her wait so long for the next chapter to our story. I hope you forgive me... I feel so horrible... I had writers block for so long, and I've just finished all my finals, so I've been so busy!!! I hope you like it!!!

**Chapter 5:**

****

****

**Trouble on the Horizon**

Joe had an overall, boring day. The teachers droned on during the classes, trying to teach their students stuff they would never need in real life.

The usual. 

It wasn't that Joe was a bad student, or that he was the mischievous type. He just didn't think that he needed to learn about Samarkand's LONG, boring history (A/N: Sorry, if that offends anyone. It was just a country that came to my mind.). He wanted to be a racecar driver when he grew up, and he didn't even have to go to college. He was confident that he knew more than enough to become a champion, easily.

A rather arrogant, patronizing attitude, don't you think?

Actually, Joe had wanted to become a racecar driver ever since he was old enough to think properly about his career. He knew everything there was to know about racecars and racing, and had won many junior races when he was little. He had his future all planned out. So why did he have to go to college?

The answer was simple, really. When Joe was a mere child of three, his mother had died of a heart attack. He was told she had always wanted him to have a proper education and college degree. He was just fulfilling her wishes. His father had said that Joe was exactly like his mother, ambitious, caring, and shy, all at the same time. He had also said that it was a pity, Joe had only inherited her soft cinnamon eyes, otherwise, he looked like the mirror image of his father. (A/N: HARRY POTTER!!!) 

Joe tapped his pen restlessly on the side of his desk, staring at the clock. He glared at it, willing the minute hand to move. The professor's monotonous droning made it hard to pay attention, especially in the end of the day.

"Mr. Shimamura!" The professor's sharp voice jolted Joe back to reality.

"Mr. Shimamura, since you are so confident with your knowledge of the ancient scriptures to _not pay attention_, why don't you tell the class exactly how the invading Muslims battered into Samarkand's defenses?"

"I...Um...Well..." Out of the corner of his eye, Joe could see Françoise fighting a loosing battle to muffle her giggles, clearly amused. 'Well, at least _she's_ having fun.' He thought wryly. The professor frowned disapprovingly, and opened his mouth, 

"Mr. Shimamura, would you—" The bell ringing cut him off, and Joe let out a long breath. 'Saved by the bell—so cliché! That was close' He quickly gathered his books and rushed out of the room. Along the hallway, he spied Jet Link casually leaning against the wall, with a sulking expression on his face. He knew Jet from his drama class, taught by an Englishman by the name of Great Britain. Professor Britain insisted his students call him G.B; he didn't like being called a professor. He had said it made him feel old. To Joe, it just seemed he wanted to associate with his students on better terms, not just as teacher and student. Joe paused and inquired,

"Hey, Jet. What's up?" Jet glared at him and scowled.

"Changku." That explained it all. Professor Chang Changku, the small, stout Chinese Professor who taught Home etc., had an effect on Jet. He always found something wrong with his cooking, and severely scolded him for his faults, no matter how hard Jet tried. Although, it didn't seem like he was trying too hard. The fact that they disagreed on everything didn't help either. Jet never seemed to like cooking; he thought it was useless and boring. Joe had once wondered why Jet had even picked Home etc. as a subject, since he hated it so much. That question was solved rather quickly, when he discovered how many pretty girls were in the class. Joe smirked jokingly, and said,

"Don't sweat it, you'll learn to cope. He's not that bad, if you don't get on his nerves. You win some you lose some. Hey, look at the bright side! You can drop the class next semester if you want." Jet mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "But what about the girls?" Joe grinned.

"You'll manage. See ya." With that said, he walked off, thinking about a certain blond, who had occupied his thoughts for a long time now.

* * *

When he walked to the bus station, he spied Françoise with a couple of other girls, gathered around her. Their leader, whom Joe recognized as Victoria, was smiling, but rather evilly at Françoise. His forehead furrowed in confusion as he walked towards the cluster of girls. 

"Hey, Françoise!" Joe called out jovially. Françoise's pale face brightened when she saw him and moved to greet him, but Victoria got to him first, and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Hi, Joe!" She said, breathlessly, "So, what's been going on? You seem awfully busy, I never see you anymore!" She pouted a little. Joe thought that this was very childish, and was rather confused.

"Uh...I _have_ been pretty busy. I'll look for you next time." He said absent-mindedly. Victoria's eyes lighted up with glee, as she giggled and smiled flirtatiously. Joe turned to Françoise and she smiled warmly.

"Hello! Did you have a nice day?" She asked pleasantly.

"Yeah, it was awesome. Listen, I was wondering—" At that precise moment, the bus pulled into the station, cutting Joe off. Françoise looked at him curiously before boarding the bus, with him not far behind. Of course Victoria and her entourage followed them, Victoria herself trailing Joe like a lost puppy. Françoise sat down, and Joe sat next to her. She turned around to him, and asked,

"You were wondering...?" 

"I...I wanted to know..." He stopped, suddenly choking from the lump in his throat. Why did he lose confidence all of a sudden? Why was he so confident in the first place? It was very unlike him to be so extroverted to a girl in a dating sense, especially after only a few days subsequent to their meeting. He was usually very shy when it came to this sort of stuff. It was weird, he felt as if he knew Françoise very well, well enough to ask her out on the second day of school. But that was impossible!! They had never met before!! He pushed those thoughts to the back of his head; it was a question for him to ponder on a rainy day. He had current problems to deal with now. She was waiting for him to speak, with a patient smile on her face. Joe took in a deep breath, and let it go.

"WellIwaswonderingifyoucouldgooutwithmetothemoviesthisSaturdaythatisifyou're freeandifyouwanttoIpromiseIwon'tstandyouupohpleasesayyesbutI'mnotforcingyouw hatdoyousay?" He took in a deep breath after, gasping for air. He could've sworn he was turning blue as he said that one sentence. Françoise looked rather bewildered, but he had a feeling she got the gist of it all. She smiled, eyes twinkling with amusement. 

"Joe," she started, "that was very um...sweet, but I hardly think that we should be going out right away. I mean we've just met a few days ago!" Joe was crestfallen. He knew that it was a bad idea to ask her out, why, _why_ did he have to go by his instincts?!? Now she probably thought he was a total dork... 'Great job, Joe!' he thought, 'Now you've really messed things up! She'll never want to go out with you now!!!' He could feel his face heating up with embarrassment because he had made himself look foolish in front of the girl he liked. 'Wait, did I just think, "liked"?!? When did _that_ happen? This all is just too weird...' He forced a grin, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest.

"That's fine, I understand, you—," but she cut him off, a faint streak of pink decorating her delicate face. The coloring on her face was unnoticed by Joe, who was extremely upset about being rejected.

"With all things considered, we really shouldn't go out,"

'Oh great, now she's going to give me the reasons for not going on a date and rub it in. This is just perfect...' Joe thought dryly. She continued,

"...but I have a crazy feeling that this will work out perfectly, for both of us. I'd be happy to go out with you, if the offer still stands." His eyes widened in shock, then glittered in elation.

"Great! I'll pick you up, at around 7ish, ok?" He could barely resist jumping for joy.

"That's fine with me." She smiled at him. His eyes were bright and wide with excitement and he looked like a little boy about to ride his first bicycle.

* * *

They stayed silent for the rest of the bus ride, for vastly different reasons. Joe, because he was planning for the big night, Françoise because she was thinking about why she had accepted his offer and why he had even offered. 'It could just be mutual affection,' she mused, but then she blushed self-consciously. 'Even if I do believe in love at first sight, why would he pick me? He himself saw how Victoria was fawning over him. She's very pretty, and could give him whatever he wanted! She's definitely not playing 'hard-to-get'. But am I? That's nonsense, why would I like him? He _is_ cute, though,' She blushed as she thought this, scolding herself for thinking such thoughts. 'What if I accidentally said them aloud? That would be so embarrassing... Why am I so attracted to him? We've only just met! But it feels like I've known him before, and he's not the only one I feel strangely friendly to. Jet Link, the boy from my drama class, my drama professor, and my home etc. professor all seem familiar to me. The odd thing is, I'm positive I've never seen any of them before!' She shook her head slightly, to clear her mind of all her jumbled thoughts. 'I'll just take the problems as they come, one by one,' she decided. 

While the two were closed off, each in their own separate world, Victoria watched them with envy and hate.

"That girl doesn't know who she's messing with. I'll get Joe no matter what!" Natalie watched her friend seethed with anger, as she watched the pair together. She couldn't see why Victoria liked Joe so much, to be so bent on getting Françoise out of the way, but that was just Vicky's way of doing things. She sighed, knowing that Victoria wouldn't give up until she had Joe all to herself.

Meanwhile, in a distant lair, deep within an abandoned mountain cave, a tall man was formulating his evil plan. He laughed wildly, and shouted to the world,

"My cyborgs, have fun while you can, your time is almost up! When I have finished, all of you will be wiped from the face of the earth, leaving me to do whatever I wish!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!! (A/N: LOL!!) Beware, cyborgs, for there is a traitor in your midst!!"

* * *

Like it? Hate it? PLEASE REVIEW!!! Vanessa's a very good writer, so the cliffhanger she put at the end of the previous chapter was hard to follow up on. I know it's not very good, but I tried my best!!!! I know I haven't been a very good reviewer/updater lately as well, but now, since it's the end of school, I have A LOT more time. Actually, no I wont. This is probably going to be the last update I'm going to do for the summer, because I'm going to be without a computer for the whole summer. First, I'm going to camp for a month, and then I'm going back to China for the rest of the vacation. There aren't any computers in camp, and I'm supposed to spend time with my family in China. Great, isn't it? I won't have any T.V. either, so I'm going to miss so many Yu Yu Hakusho episodes!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! If I miss Hiei's fights, I will get SO mad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Feel sorry for me...TT I'll also be cut off from all my friends, both on fanfiction, and off... NOOOOO!!! 

Ok, just as a reminder, I want to make as many friends on ff.net as possible, so my Yahoo IM sn is snowfairy102391, and my AIM sn is azureangelaura. LOL, I just had some mango jelly. It's really good!!! I'll be back when school starts, so IM me then!!!! PLEASE!!! I seriously need some conversation. My friends from school never talk, and they space out, and my friends from fanfiction are hardly ever on!! I think that's because of the time difference... Neways, I'm going to stop rambling, and wish Vanessa and Angela good luck on their collaboration. It's going to be THE best Cyborg 009 story EVER!!! I'm really sorry I won't be there to review first, but when I come back, I'll review every single chapter!! Whose penname is it going to be on, anyway? Since Vanessa's not on now, and I have a very low patience rate, I'm going to post this up right now, but I didn't really proofread it. Please, if you find some grammar or spelling mistakes, tell me!!! I hate being in the dark about my own writing. For all the flamers out there, you're welcome to flame, but don't be too mean!! LOL, I'm just really happy now!!! My cousin is coming from China on Sunday!!!!! I'm so happy!! I haven't seen him in a year, and I grew up with him!! YAY!!!!!! Ok, I'll shut up right now, so you wonderful readers can REVIEW!!! LOLZ!!!! Bye!

P.S

I've tried to make this extra long, to make up for the little updating I've been doing. I know it's probably not as long as some of your stories, but it's the best I can do. Bye for real!!

P.P.S

I'm writing this on QuickEdit right now, I don't know how to do the HTML formatting, somebody PLEASE help!! The structure looks really weird, and I want more spaces between each paragraph!! Someone who's a computer genius, or someone who knows how to work this, PLEASE help me!! Bye!! (REALLY this time!! LOL)


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: A wish come true**

**Chapter: Painful Memoirs**

_It was a viciously windy day, Francoise felt her golden tresses blowing annoying in her face. She was about to wipe them away with her hand when she felt a slightly heavy bundle in her arms--a baby. He had a look of troublesome dreams on his face. Automatically she rocked him gently and smiled at him as if he could see her. Something else brushed againts her cheek, but it was a scarf--a yellow scarf. Francoise completly forgot the child in her arms and looked at herself. She was dressed red attire, much too baggy for her and completly out of style, she decided. What she saw next nearly made her dropped the infant out of her arms. Around her were six men, each dressed in similar suits. They were looking at the sky--expectant of something. Somehow that drew Francoise to also look to the sky._

_There was a figure aproaching them, at an impossible speed--but it couldn't be. Franocise refused to believe that the youth that she had gotten so close to in school was headed towards them while averting several obstacles--machianery that was trying to kill him. He shortly landed, out of breath, on the ground. Francoise felt her feeet climbling in an aircraft behind them. Once again, the wind tustled wisps of her hair in her eyes--nonethless, she knew what she was seeing could not be drawn from any memories that she had. Dreams were shreds of recalled images from memories drawn together by the thread of imagination--but there were no images for this dreams he was experiencing. Was there?_

_Francoise saw her life flash before her, but strangely enough she could not see herself in France, in high school. Instead she saw Jean Paul, her being admitted to a school, and then deception. A strong sense of sadness overwhelemed her. As if all her dreams went down the drain. What she saw next was unknown to her. Laughing faces, scientists, a man with a horrible mask of yellow eyes and a malicious smile and then--complete and utmost silence. Francoise's shoulders sagged as she let out her breath. She was trying to breath faster, that perhaps that would awaken her from this horrible dream._

_"003, are you all right?"_

_Francoise looked incrediously at the baby in her arms. Had **he **spoken to her?_

_Wait, that was just plain crazy--Francoise reminded herself nervously._

_She was not one to have nightmares, the last one she remembered was about the tooth fairy turning into the lockness monster--but this dream was like nothing she had ever experienced before._

_"I'm allright 001."_

_She heard herself saying to the infant. She felt as if she was watching the scence from farway and yet--was fully aware of her thoughts and movements as herself._

_**No more eating gummi bears before bed.**_

_But the thought was lacking humor, it was filled with fear. Francoise felt a strong sense of foreboading. She wanted to wake up **now**. Suddenly she saw a missile approach as if it was in front of her face, but one quick swish of her head and it was gone--a speck in the sky._

_"Watch out!"_

_Francoise barely looked at Joe before he scooped her up in his arms and she felt the wind swoosh in her face. She didn't dare to open her eyes. Somehow she knew that the missile had grazed her side, she knew she was feeling a small stich of pain. Strange pain, **real **pain. Dream pain was not supposed to feel this real._

_"You okay?"_

_Francoies fluttered her eyelids as if to adjust to the sunlight prying at her eyes at the sound of Joe's voice._

_"I'm fine, Joe."_

_For some reason Joe looked at her strangely, even shocked and placed her on the ground shakily--it was then that she woke up. A sharp pain assaulted her side and she placed her hand on her hip. When it surfaced from her covers---it was covered in blood._

_Only then, did she scream._


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I am SO sorry. I'm SUCH a crappy writer, AND a crappy person…Especially to Vanessa, who waited very coughINcough patiently for this chapter. BTW, I had **_just_** heard that her birthday is this Sunday, so I was writing as fast as I could so that this could be finished on time. I know it took a very long time, but I won't give any bad excuses this time. I guess I was just too lazy and to blocked to write. I'm still **_very_** sorry! But even so, I just have this to say: Vanessa'd better be happy for this; it was HARD to follow up on that chapter… God, you can't write so well! At least, for my sanity's sake!

**Title: What goes Thump! at Night**

The pitch black night was deathly quiet, but if you listened closely, you could hear crickets chirping, calling out to each other in the darkness, and the wind rustling the leaves. All was peaceful, the medley of the nighttime sounds calming to anyone who happened to have a spare moment to stop and listen. That is, until a piercing scream broke through the tranquility of the night. The scream had issued from a building that served as a college dormitory, from a room that belonged to a girl named Francoise Arnoul.

Francoise had been jerked awake from a rather disconcerting dream, and finding that a she had been bleeding from a cut on her side, had cried out. It was one thing to have a nightmare, but a totally different one to wake up and find it to be true. Now, having calmed down sufficiently to go over the events that had happened, she realized that she could remember her dream with amazing clarity. That alone made her suspicious, a small piece of information which was insignificant compared to her dream itself. Joe being in her dream wasn't that surprising, Francoise had found that she was thinking of him more than she had originally realized, but who was that baby? How was he able to talk? How did he know her? Who was attacking her, and why were they after her? Most importantly, how had she been hurt in real life?

Unbidden, an image formed in her minds eye. Somehow, she knew this person was a male even though his face was covered by a mask. It was black, just like the rest of his clothes, save for his eyes. His fluorescent yellow eyes glowed in the darkness surrounding him, and sent ethereal feeling down her spine. She had just shaken off the chills surrounding her, when her door suddenly flew open, yanking her out of her stupor.

"Francoise! Are you alright?" a worried voice called from the hallway. Francoise could see Cynthia's brown head bobbling up and down as she ran towards her, eyebrows furrowed together in concern. As she came through the doorway, Francoise noticed one of her English books on the floor, directly in front of the brunette.

"Cynthia, look—!" Francoise was cut off as Cynthia tripped over said object and came hurtling towards her bed. The last thing Francoise saw was Cynthia's surprised face, and a thump! as she landed. After a moment, both girls looked up at each others faces.

Francoise blinked

Cynthia blinked

Francoise blinked again. Then the girls started laughing like never before, falling off the bed, clutching their stomachs and rolling on the floor. After the laughter had subsided into small giggles, Francoise regained her composure and turned to the other girl lying on the floor beside her, breaths coming in short gasps.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Francoise reassured her, feeling indeed, quite calm now. It was amazing she had managed to recover from that. Cynthia pursed her lips, and frowned at her with a motherly scowl on her face. She had been up late studying, and had decided to take a walk to clear her mind when she heard Francoise's scream, which had then resulted in the position she was currently in.

Suddenly, "Francoise! I heard your scream and I—,"Joe burst in, hair mussed, clothes askew. He gaped at the sight that greeted him, both Cynthia and Francoise in their nightgowns, cheeks rosy and breathless. Backing away, his eyes widened in shock and surprise.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come in, I mean, I meant to come in, but I didn't want to come in come in, and I'm so sorry if I interrupted anything that is if you were doing anything together and I don't mean together together, just together, like friends and if you aren't just friends its perfectly ok with me why wouldn't it be," came out in a whole breath, his own cheeks taking on a rosy tinge and not just because of the speech he blurted out in a single breath. Francoise furrowed her brows in confusion, tilting her head to the side,

"Joe, what are you trying to say?" He froze and blushed harder. Before he could open his mouth, Cynthia burst into laughter again. Both Joe and Francoise watched Cynthia as she convulsed with laughter, tears making their way down her pale face. The blond turned to Joe and twirled her finger in a clockwise motion near her temple, then pointing to the brunette, still curled up in her fetal position on the floor. Joe, knowing fully well that Cynthia would tell Francoise and relieve her of her child-like ignorance laughed shakily and quickly changed the subject.

"What happened? I heard someone scream and rushed over here to see what happened, fearing the worse, and I find you two in hysterics. I think I deserve an explanation!" he said indignantly, which made set off another bout of giggles. Even so, he had conveniently forgotten the fact that he was worried to death about her, causing him to jump out of bed, hastily throwing any clothes on, and rushing out of the dorm, nearly crashing into a few walls and annoying doors. But, that was all to be expected. What was really perturbing was that, unconsciously, his tongue had reached up to push against his back tooth as he ran, and he almost expected everything else to stand still. Thinking back, he realized it was a stupid idea, expecting his back tooth to make time stop around him. Francoise spoke, startling him out of his reverie,

"I'm fine, Joe. Just a little nightmare, that's all. And…thanks for caring about me," her voice nearly inaudible with those last words. Joe reached up a hand to scratch at the back of his hair sheepishly, averting his eyes while a blush blossomed across his boyish cheeks, muttering a small,

"My pleasure…" Cynthia watched her two friends in fascination, looking from one to another, a conclusion slowly forming in her head.

"OH MY GOD!" broke through the silence, ruining the moment between the blushing pair. Joe, glad for the excuse, asked politely,

"Cynthia, what's wrong?" Her brown eyes were wide and sparkling with wonder.

"I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner!"

"Notice what?" asked Francoise, trading suspicious glances with Joe.

"It's so obvious! I'll be surprised if the whole school doesn't know by now!"

"Know what?" Joe said, confusion evident in his voice.

"Gods, this is so funny, everyone else but you two has realized this already!"

"Realize WHAT? Tell us, NOW!" two voices simultaneously demanded, both pairs of eyes promising a cold, harsh punishment. Laughing, Cynthia answered easily,

"Duh! The fact that both of you are head over heels in love with each other!" That statement silenced the entire room, and all that could be heard was the soft chirping of the crickets. Cynthia watched as her two friend's faces remained the same, eyes wide and mouth agape kept from their previous emotion, anger at her, but this time it portrayed a completely different feeling. Both of them radiated a jumble of feelings, among them shock, embarrassment, and right in the center of the mix, a bit of happiness. You ask how Cynthia would know about this? She was a psychology major, and was trained to tell peoples emotions, however well hidden. This proved very useful, but was an extreme annoyance to her friends, especially if they had a secret they didn't want her to know. To her, it was a gift from heaven itself.

"Bu…but…uh…I…um…wait…uh…" Joe stuttered, unable to find words to express himself. The blond sitting on the bed beside him just stared at the brunette, stunned. A blush quickly formed on her porcelain face, and managed to bite out,

"Cynthia…I…I don't think that's…that's entirely…appropriate," Cynthia, having her fill of fun for the night grinned, and waved a hand at the frozen couple.

"Well, its up to you guys to discuss. I'm going back to bed for my beauty sleep! Ta-ta!" and with that, she strode off, humming a small tune to herself. When the mischievous brunette left, it was just Joe and Francoise, all alone.

"She's really going to need that beauty sleep," Joe commented, in an attempt to break the awkward silence. To his surprise, Francoise giggled, and replied,

"You'd better hope she didn't ear that, or else you wouldn't live to see daylight,"

"Yeah, but it would be worth it, to see her face," Things were stable for a moment, the air more relaxed. That is, until Joe discovered a small red patch on Francoise's left side. At first, a burst of red splashed across his face, as he thought up a reason for it to be there, but it quickly dissipated once he realized that she wouldn't bleed _there_, unless…

"Francoise. What happened to your left side?" he asked with a clipped voice, eyes boring into hers. Francoise's eyes widened as she saw how hard Joe's usually warm cinnamon eyes had become, and her hand flew to her injury.

"Oh, it's nothing. I accidentally cut myself while shaving, and forgot to bandage it," she said hastily, smiling up at him. Joe remained suspicious, but it was obvious Francoise didn't want to tell him anything else. His eyes were darkened with fury, knowing that someone had snuck up on his golden-haired angel in the middle of the night. Whoever that person was—he would pay.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he couldn't help but try to get the information out of her, yet it was hard to do so without letting her know.

"Yes Joe, I'm perfectly fine, but I think you should get some sleep. Come on, we don't have all night!" Getting up, Francoise made her way to her closet, making sure her wound was inconspicuously hidden. It wouldn't do any good if Joe were to catch a glimpse of it again.

"Wh-what? Whaddya mean?" dumbfounded, Joe looked at her as if she was crazy.

"What do I mean? I mean, you'd better settle down for the night, it's late, and we have finals tomorrow," came from deep within the mahogany wardrobe. Warm cinnamon eyes widened, and his face burst into flame, once he realized what Francoise had meant.

"Yo…You want me to…to…sleep _here_? With _you_?"

"Yeah, what else would I have meant?" Looking up from her rummaging, she spied Joe's burning face, "Ugh, not in that way, you perv! _You're_ going to be sleeping on the floor!"

"But why can't I just go back to my own dorm?"

"Don't be silly, it's freezing outside, you'll definitely catch a cold. Besides, if you're caught, you'll be in major trouble,"

"But…but…"

"That's not gonna help you at all, so I suggest you stop with the whining and help me with these blankets," which was followed by a seemingly endless stream of flying pieces of thick cloth. After Francoise had piled all the blankets up so that it made a second bed in the middle of the room, she took out some big t-shirts that, when held up by the coat hanger trailed on the ground, and a stack of boxers balanced precariously on the upturned palm of her hand.

"These should be big enough for you, go try them on in the bathroom," she motioned toward the door in the corner of her dorm. Still wary of her plan, Joe gathered the stacks of clothes and went through the said door. Once he closed and locked it, he looked around at his surroundings, and prepared himself for the worst. What greeted him was shocking, even with that extra protective preparing. One word that could be used to describe it would probably be... Pink. Everything was pink, down to the little bristles on her pink toothbrush. There was pink soap, pink towels, pink toilet seat—he wouldn't be surprised if there was pink water running out of the pink faucet in the pink sink. It was like a boy's worst nightmare, without the cooties.

Trying to relax, he took a deep breath. Wrong move. What hit him was so overpowering, it nearly knocked him over. It was Francoise's scent. The lovely smell of fresh roses, combined in such a perfect way with warm vanilla. It was the scent he dreamed about, the scent he longed for day and night. Collapsing in a heap on the pink-tiled floor, he closed his eyes, and breathed in. Oh, how he wished he could be immersed in this scent forever, forever by his angel's side.

"Joe? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Come on, answer me! Joe!" her worry-soaked voice rang through the air like a shot, startling the dreamy-eyed young man.

He scrambled up from his fetal position, and quickly called back, "I'm fine, Francoise!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just slipped, it's nothing, so don't worry!" Reluctantly, he got up and started to undress, carefully folding every piece of clothing and placing them carefully on the floor. The last thing he wanted Francoise to think was that he was a messy slob. Looking at the stacks of t-shirts and boxers stacked before him, he found that they were looked like they belonged to a boy. Picking up the uppermost pieces of clothing, he put them on and observed the end product in the floor-length mirror. He didn't look half bad, considering that the t-shirt went up to his knees, and the boxers were too loose. Strangely enough, they didn't have Francoise's scent. He was slightly disappointed, but more perturbed. It not only had Francoise's perfume, but it had another flavor to it, more like cologne. Why would Francoise have someone else's clothes in her closet? Did it mean anything that the clothes were definitely a male's? Did Francoise have… NO! That couldn't be possible! Francoise isn't that kind of girl—is she? No, she would definitely not be one of _those_. But…but what if she had one? What if… If she had one, then… Then what would they do—

Joe felt his face burst into flame for what felt like the millionth time that night, and leaned heavily against the pink-tiled wall. No, no, bad, _very _bad, Joe! You shouldn't be thinking about _those_ things _here_!

"Joe? You're taking an awfully long time in there! Are you _sure_ you're O.K?"

"Yeah, I told you, don't worry about me! Don't stay up for me, you need sleep!"

"But hurry up!" Taking one last glance at his reflection, and once having made sure he was blush-free, he took in a deep breath, and exited the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Francoise was outside, worrying incessantly about, whom she considered, a chestnut-haired cutie, in her bathroom. He was taking such a long time, and she couldn't help but become anxious to the point of wearing a hole in her floor. She kept worrying about him, no matter what he did. It was as if, magically, in her subconscious she thought that he was constantly in mortal danger, like he had some horrible enemy that would kill him on the spot once they got the chance. She knew it was ridiculous, she knew it had come out of nothing, but somehow, in her mind, it was rooted there, unable to be pulled out.

"Ta-da, you like?" Joe came out, arms wide open, and just begging to be hugged. It took all of Francoise's quickly dwindling self-control to not lunge forward and bury herself into his arms.

"Yeah, it looks great! Now, let's go to bed," and with that, she turned around, and without even letting Joe get into bed first, turned off the light, and plunged the room into utter darkness. Thankfully, she acted fast enough to hide the blush that spread across her face. She shouldn't have lent him her brother's old shirts! It wasn't that he looked ugly in them, he looked absolutely perfect! A bit too perfect. The t-shirt was loose enough to look normal for a guy, but hugged him slightly in the chest, giving a better view of his defined muscles. Oh, how she wished she could be held to that chest, safe and isolated from everything else but Joe.

The unaware object of her affections was left to wander in the dark, trying desperately to find something to hold onto, in case he tripped over something, and landed on a certain someone. But, it was hard to concentrate on his goal when he partly wanted to land on her. He knew it was a bit selfish, and he would probably crush her, but it would be heaven to be so close to her, even for a short bit of time. Finally finding his makeshift bed, he lay down on it, and stared at, what he supposed was the ceiling.

"Francoise?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"What do you mean?"

"That cut you had earlier…"

"Oh…Oh yeah, that! I'm fine, don't worry!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly alright! It's nothing!"

"No, it's not nothing. You're starting to sound like me, and that means something's seriously wrong with you." Laughter was heard, the sound resembling the gentle chime of bells.

"Joe, there's nothing wrong with me, nor with you. Didn't I tell you before? It was just a little cut, nothing more, so you don't have to worry!" The young man opened his mouth in a near-silent yawn, and then flipped over onto his side, his drooping eyelids finally getting some rest. Slowly loosing consciousness, he heard a tune being sung with such a sweet voice, it could've only belonged to an angel.

_**Night time sharpens  
Heightens each sensation  
Darkness stirs  
And wakes imagination  
Silently the senses  
Abandon their defenses**_

So sweet…

_**Slowly, gently  
Night unfurls its splendor  
Grasp it, sense it  
Tremulous and tender  
Turn your face away  
From the garish light of day  
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light  
And listen to the music of the night**_

So beautiful…

_**Close your eyes  
And embellish on your darkest dreams,  
Purge all thoughts of the life you knew before,  
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar  
And you'll live like you've never lived before**_

It wasn't real, it was ethereal in a way, just so…

_**Softly, deftly  
Music shall caress you  
Hear it, feel it  
Secretly possess you  
Open up your mind  
Let your fantasies unwind  
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight  
The darkness of the music of the night  
**_

In his mind, he was falling, falling in a hole of darkness. Surprisingly, he was not afraid, but kept hearing that alluring music…

**  
_Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world,  
leave all thoughts of the world you knew before,  
let your soul take you where you long to be,  
only then can you belong to me.  
_**

Far up ahead, he could see a bright light, shining brightly in the darkness. He had to reach it, he just had to!

**  
_Floating, falling  
Sweet intoxication  
Touch me, trust me  
Savor each sensation  
Let the dream begin  
Let your darker side give in  
To the power of the music that I write  
The power of the music of the night  
_**

As he approached his goal, he saw it, the most exquisite being he had ever seen. She was the epitome of beauty, stunning in more ways than one. She was reaching out to him, beckoning him to come closer, and he did. He grasped her hands, and she took them away from the darkness, showing him the light.

**  
_You alone can make my song take flight  
Help me make the music of the night_**

Yes… I will.

A/N: Yes, I know it's WAY too short, considering the time I've been away, but… you know me. I've just finished this at 11:20 P.M, and am about to go watch Full Metal Alchemist! So yeah, if the ending's a little weird, I'm sorry, it's late! BTW, I don't own "Music of the Night", it's a beautiful song written by some guy from Phantom of the Opera, and my friend's absolutely obsessed with it. Ok, I'm going to be an annoying brat, but: Angela, I sent you an email, but I'm not sure you've received it…But you're too busy with work and all that, I'm sorry. I just wanted to confirm…

Again, I'm very sorry for the delay, and Happy Birthday, Vanessa! I hope this is…um…how do I put it? I hope this is uh…to your liking!


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